Bakkelas attorney, Donald Scales, said Tuesday that Bakkela acted recklessly while trying to flee but that he did not intend to start a fire. The full image shows how the smoke has drifted low and far, an indication of strong winds and the fires future direction. Because of the blaze, the residents who saw him set the fire had to flee their home. Housing in the region is limited and the massive loss of lower-cost housing will have a huge impact on working people. I keep buckets of water out there just in case. I remember a white woman doing that. As for how the fire started, Ashland police say theyve launched a criminal investigation. It has killed two people, destroyed a thousand homes and laid waste to . This is why the fire will destroy so much property. When Oregon State Police troopers and Jackson County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, Bakkela "was standing close to a very large fire threatening several homes," the sheriff's office alleged. 2020 Oregon wildfires. Erik Neumann. Erratic 40-plus-mile-per-hour winds created spot fires faster than the small 50-person crew could contain them, and eventually the . The Almeda Fire started in Ashland and then burned through Talent and Phoenix. Talent works to keep its residents from leaving after the Almeda Fire. Authorities are also conducting a separate criminal investigation into the initial origin of the Almeda Fire. I want to rebuild., We thought we were fine before the fire. People who didn't evacuate their homes that remained intact then faced a dilemma: if they left their neighborhood, they might not be able to get back in because of road blocks. park. The Almeda and Obenchain fires has left many here wondering: will there be a next time? 7, 2021. No windows. Heres Why They Stay. The Almeda Fire was particularly catastrophic. On the morning of Sept. 8, 2020, it swept through the Rogue Valley within a matter of hours, destroying more than 2,600 homes between Ashland, Talent, Phoenix and Medford. Ashland Police Chief Tighe O'Meara also confirmed with Oregon Live that the Almeda fire they're investigating wasn't caused by antifa. The areas scenic beauty and proximity to large urban centers make it a popular destination for tourists. All my familys here.. I miss him a lot. We planted strawberries. I wanted to give her a hug. Photo: Jackson County Sheriff office. September 2020 a brush fire started in Ashland Oregon went out of hand with strong winds and swept through the next three towns, Talent, Phoenix, and Medford. State troopers and sheriffs deputies who arrived saw Bakkela standing close to a large fire that was threatening several homes. The Almeda Fire started around 11 a.m., and the second one that Bakkela was accused of starting began around 5 p.m. Bakkela is not accused in the larger, more destructive Almeda Fire. One man allegedly started a . We may end up having to leave. I earn a little bit more than the minimum wage. We threw all the clothes away. The icons represent heat detected by satellites. The fire destroyed 2,428 structures, damaged another 134, claimed three lives and ravaged the communities of Talent and Phoenix. There was a voice mail. I know people are hurting and upset and looking for answers. By June, a deeper analysis of Jackson County's response to the fires called on government leaders to create a more coordinated emergency plan. . Prosecutors do not believe the two fires merged and that railroad tracks acted as a fire break, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Markiewicz said. In the western United States, issues of fire and forest management in a changing climate, especially as they relate to federal forest management, have generated controversy for decades. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office said she has no connection with antifa, contrary to rumors circulating online about that the group had been involved in starting fires. Unbreakable bonds. According to findings, Anderson-Belt was the only Jackson County Emergency Management staff member at the time of the incident and there was one vacant position. READ: As Western Wildfires Worsen, FEMA Is Denying Most People Who Ask For Help. On Sept. 8, 2020, after residents evacuated to an emergency shelter at the Jackson County Expo, many found themselves homeless in their own towns, including Bryan Flores and Adriana Hays, students of Phoenix High School. Every month we have to requalify. Since then, investigators have been trying to piece together exactly what happened and why. He was emotional during portions of his testimony in defense of his older brother, especially . The Almeda Fire started around 11 a.m., and the second one that Bakkela was accused of starting began around 5 p.m. Bakkela is not accused in the larger, more destructive Almeda Fire. . . Caused by lightning; merged with the Beachie Creek Fire on September 8; the combined fires were briefly renamed Santiam Fire, 280 structures destroyed, 10 injuries. And then in the back of my mind Im still thinking, We dont have a house to go back to. Prosecutors do not believe they merged; they say railroad tracks acted as a fire break. I went to the top of his list. By Christoph Koettl, Caroline Kim, Drew Jordan and Arielle Ray. Your regular monthly contribution supports JPR's local journalism and all our music and cultural programming. Romero falsely alleged that Douglas County arrested six "ANTIFA arsonists" and said there were still "more to track down and arrest" in . It didn't start in the woods or the so-called wildland urban interface, where policy makers have focused much of their forestry and defensible space work. In the last home, we all could sit for dinner and play. What little she still had after the fire was in the relationships shed cultivated over two decades in the valley. The district started a crowdfunding . Jefferson Public Radio takes a look back at a sample of our coverage from this past year to remember the stories that the Rogue Valley helped us tell. With our state and local partners, the FBI has investigated several such reports and found them to be untrue," the agency said in a statement. This satellite image of the origin was taken an hour into the fire and detects heat. We make around $2,000 a month. I dont know what the address is. DeBeys own house was spared by the flames, just barely. The area is popular with retirees and is home to the hardworking people who are the foundation of the regional tourism industry and provide the labor needed in the pear orchards and vineyards. The R.V.s have showers but its for emergencies because its a small space. In the early morning of September 8, 2020, the Almeda fire swept through the Rogue Valley and through areas of Ashland and Medford, and destroyed most of Talent and Phoenix. Bakkela told police that it stalled and that he tried to get it going by pouring gasoline into the engine area, the district attorneys office said. A house is just a structure. There is "significant damage" that police are attributing to the fire allegedly set by Bakkela, Jackson County Sheriff's Office public information officer Mike Moran told ABC News. It couldnt be used anymore. Forest fires are a natural part of the landscape in Oregon, but in recent years this type of urban destruction has been more common in places like Californias wine country or further south. Were trying to keep the same plan. We had to fight to get my children into a safer place. The fire Bakkela started is considered to be one of the origins of the Almeda fire and the two quickly merged, said Oregon State Fire Marshal's office spokesman Rich Tyler. Everyone there was basically family. Melissa Brown, 80, has lived by herself throughout most of her adult life. All my familys here. But I could never find a job, and I eventually had to sell it. I moved here in 2001 when I was 60. Strong wind pushed it from Ashland up the Intestate 5 corridor. Please help our entire community by only sharing validated information from official sources.". Using evidence thats hidden in plain sight, our investigative journalists present a definitive account of the news from the Las Vegas massacre to a chemical attack in Syria. Third-Year Computer Science with a love for technology! Whenever I see black smoke the bad smoke I cant stop shaking. NBC5 News is working on more details about the report and reaching out to local officials for their reactions. For four months, we stayed in an apartment that an organizer found for us. Location of the Almeda Drive Fire in southern Oregon indicated by the red dot. And by nightfall, entire neighborhoods are burning. Mapping the Almeda Drive Fire. Thousands of homes were destroyed last year in the Almeda Fire Oregons most destructive in years. There are many more maps you could make about an event like this using the ArcGIS Living Atlas. But it became the anchor that kept his family in the valley after losing their home. I know I can start over in another place, but I dont want to run away like a coward and not face my problems. Mills was reported missing in March of 2021. Never seen anything like this. While he shows the devastation up close, far above him, satellite imagery captures the trail of destruction through the valley. We had our Christmas tree up too. Simple maps like this take less than a minute to produce and are built entirely with Living Atlas resources. Bakkela pleaded no contest to a count of arson, 16 counts of criminal mischief and two counts animal abuse Wednesday in connection with the fire he caused, the Jackson County District Attorneys Office said. We are the only ones in the area. When Martin Rocha, 36, started working at an artisanal cheese company in Central Point in 2005, it was only a temporary job. When Ms. Ledesma visits the homes of friends, she often returns to the trailer and dwells on how hard it is to find something similar. Oh my God. The Almeda Fire started around 11 a.m., and the second one that Bakkela was accused of starting began around 5 p.m. Bakkela is not accused in the larger, more destructive Almeda Fire. [9] A separate criminal investigation into the origin point of the Almeda Drive Fire in Ashland is ongoing. The gaps in Jackson Countys alert system left many without critical information. I want to rebuild. I lost an enormous amount of body conditioning. I do not know yet.. Above all, theres a looming sense that more fires are sure to come. Incident Period: Sep 8, 2020 - Sep 15, 2020 Declaration Date: Sep 9, 2020 Quick Links. Leaving them, she said, would be unthinkable. I dont want to run away like a coward and not face my problems. Now we have to start over and fight. This modern pattern of web GIS provides a powerful way to understand, create and share. Although the main fire started around 11 a.m., on Tuesday near an . We dont know where they really are. What little they still have is here, they say. However, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has maintained that the case is considered separate from the Almeda Fire's origin. Wind and wildfire information from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World simplifies tracking the extreme fire conditions in California. We can stay here until FEMA pulls out. We could invite friends over. Sheriff Sickler said that these numbers do not differentiate between homes, businesses, outbuildings, and other structures. About 24 hours after it started, an estimated 2,350 homes had been left in ashes. Everything is changing, he said. We have a sink, a stove, a microwave, an oven, a refrigerator. The local fire department and the National Weather Service have warned for days about the increased risk of fires due to hot, dry weather, followed by strong wind. Officials said the fire started Monday and strong winds pushed it quickly west, causing it to advance about 10 miles over the span of 30 hours. By Erik Neumann (Jefferson Public Radio) Jan. 13, 2021 5:30 a.m. Destruction after the Almeda Fire in Phoenix, Oregon. Authorities pleaded with residents to ignore the rumors. The report states that at the time of the emergency, only one person in Jackson County had the training and access to the citizen alert system: then-emergency manager Stacey Anderson-Belt. Most of the homes at the Royal Oaks Mobile Manor in Medford were destroyed by . Ive lived in a lot of places in the States and in Europe. Assistance After a Disaster; Governments and Private Non-Profits; Individuals and Families. The hot and dry weather conditions continue to hurt firefighting efforts, and the flames reach the town of Talent by the afternoon. The police chief said in an email: "One thing I can . A year after the Almeda fire, hundreds who are still in trailers, hotels and other temporary homes continue to grapple with that question. A pair of bald eagles were spotted in Alameda on Friday a rare sight in the East Bay. The New York Times followed six families as they struggled to preserve their place in this valley. I put in a skylight. I had seen videos but its a thousand times worse than I could have ever imagined. When compared to some of the other wildfires raging in remote areas along the West Coast, the Almeda Drive fire burned less overall territory, but it was particularly ruinous because it struck well-populated areas. Oregon's Almeda Fire started as a brush fire on the morning of Sept. 8 and quickly became an urban fire. Michael Bakkela, 43, was accused of setting a second fire as the Almeda Fire was raging in southern Oregon on Sept. 8, 2020. Dan Pisut | ArcGIS Living Atlas | I said: Im going to see my house. We were in the process of buying. However, after a public records request, NBC5 News learned that Talent never received an alert at all. Some 29 local, state and federal law enforcement investigators have worked the case since the fire was reported at 11:04 a.m. Sept. 8, 2020, at 164 Almeda Drive, Ashland, according to the release. . It starts right next to a residential area, and people barely have any time to respond. Shortly after the fires, many people wondered why there wasnt more emergency evacuation information. What's known, according to police, is that the fire started in a dry field along Almeda Street. Update (May 11, 2022): In 2020, PETA wrote to the district attorney in Oregon's Jackson County, asking that accused arsonist Michael Jarrod Bakkela be held accountable for the suffering and deaths of animals resulting from a fire that he had allegedly started during the Almeda fire.Following our outreach, Bakkela was charged with eight counts of animal abuse. Sep. 7After nine search warrants and 154 interviews in four states, the lead agencies investigating the origins of the massively destructive Almeda Fire aren't much closer to finding a suspect than they were two years ago, according to a joint press release issued Tuesday by Ashland police and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. She doesnt want to leave and lose that too, she said. Tools to Recover; . Local governments and non-profits are coordinating the fire recovery through the Rogue Valley Preparedness and Recovery Hub. The next look at the fire was at 3:06 pm. This map is available as a web scene. Oregon is currently facing numerous wildfires that have burned over 1 million acres and killed at least 10 people, according to The Oregonian.While it's still unclear how all the fires started, authorities said the Almeda Fire is being investigated as arson, the outlet reported.. A viral Facebook post claims the Douglas County Sheriff's Office has six antifa activists in custody for arson . I made the map below using the, Jackson Countys Damage Assessment Dashboard, NASAs Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fire layer, ACS Poverty Status Variables Boundaries layer, Rogue Valley Preparedness and Recovery Hub, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder Roadmap for Retirement. Our plan had been to save enough money for a down payment on a house. Nearly 20% of the population in the fire area lives in poverty. One day, well have a home. The Almeda fire left a path of destruction as it tore through the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon. The Sept. 8, 2020 fire destroyed over 2,400 homes in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley. When we moved into the hotel, we bought bedspreads. READ: Report Analyzes Jackson Countys Almeda Fire Response, Calls For Better Coordination. Failed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Paul Romero was seen pushing the theory that antifa was also somehow behind the wildfires early Wednesday over Twitter, claiming video footage "confirmed" it. READ: This Isnt Going Away: Climate Scientists And Fire Officials Reflect On The Almeda Fire. Bakkela has never said, I did nothing wrong. He knows that what he did was reckless. That's when a group of cyclists hopped on their cargo bikes carrying hundreds of gallons of water and boxes of food for people who couldn't leave their neighborhoods. Bern Szukalski | ArcGIS Living Atlas |